Electromagnetically actuated valve

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an electromagnetically actuatable valve that comprises a magnet part, a moveable armature element, a spring element, and a valve part. The magnet part has at least one coil form with a magnetic coil wound on it, a flux concentrating element and a center pole. The valve part comprises a closing element that cooperates with the armature element and controls the opening and closing of the valve on a valve seat. The armature element is designed as a clapper-type armature and cooperates with the center pole by way of a damping element.

[0001] The invention relates to an electromagnetically actuatable valve,in particular for use in motor vehicles according to the preamble ofclaim 1.

RELATED ART

[0002] Electromagnetic valves are made known in the related art, inwhich the opening and closing of the valve is achieved by means of amoveable solenoid plunger. The disadvantage of this is that, due to thestructural arrangement of the components in such valves, an air gapresults between coil and center pole, between solenoid plunger and coil,and between solenoid plunger and center pole, which leads to a markedloss of magnetic flux. A further disadvantage of the traditionalelectromagnetic valves is that, when the valve opens and closes, thesolenoid plunger, which is made of iron, strikes the center pole of themagnetic coil and produces a clearly audible noise.

[0003] Object of the present invention is to create anelectromagnetically actuatable valve of the type described in thepreamble of claim 1 that is low-noise or optimized in terms of noiseduring opening and closing that simultaneously ensures an improvedmagnetic flux and also saves space.

[0004] This object is solved according to the invention using thesubject matter of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the subjectmatter according to the invention are listed in subclaims 2 through 10.

ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The electromagnetically actuatable valve according to theinvention has a magnet part, a moveable armature element, a springelement, and a valve part. The magnet part includes at least onemagnetic coil wound on a coil form, a flux concentrating element, and acenter pole. The valve part has a closing element that cooperates withthe armature element and controls the opening and closing of the valveon a valve seat.

[0006] According to the present invention, the armature element of thevalve is designed as a clapper-type armature. The use of a clapper-typearmature is advantageous, on the one hand, because the entireelectromagnetically actuatable valve can then be designed to be smallerin size than when a traditional solenoid plunger is used. Thisspace-saving design of the valve expands its potential uses. On theother hand, the use of a clapper-type armature involves a betterefficiency of the magnetic circuit, which is caused, among other things,by the resultant improved possibility of arranging the clapper-typearmature relative to the other components of the valve, whereby air gapsthat inhibit magnetic flux are largely avoided and only occur betweencenter pole and armature element.

[0007] Moreover, the clapper-type armature according to the inventioncooperates with the center pole by way of a damping element so thatunpleasant noises are prevented when the valve opens and closes. This isparticularly important when the electromagnetically actuatable valve issituated in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, e.g., in theseats, to vary the seat surface.

[0008] The armature element and the valve part are preferably located ina housing. The armature element, the flux concentrating element, theclosing element, the spring element as well as the damping element areconfined in the housing in pressure-sealed fashion. This can be achievedby pressure-sealed injection of the flux concentrating element. Allsensitive components of the valve are therefore protected. The housingcan also be designed to be two-piece or multi-piece and be permanentlyjoined by gluing the housing parts together, for example.

[0009] In a further preferred embodiment, the electromagneticallyactuatable valve has a damping element with a damping stop which absorbssound, so noise is reduced when the valve opens and closes.

[0010] Moreover, the flux concentrating element is preferably designedas a bracket which is situated on the perimeter of the magnetic coil.

[0011] In yet another preferred embodiment, the armature elementactuates a closing element to open and close the valve, which closingelement is designed as an umbrella sealing plug with an umbrellamembrane. The umbrella sealing plug is flexible and preferably made outof silicone rubber. As a result, when the clapper-type armature, whichis made of iron, strikes the umbrella sealing plug to open the valve,noise is reduced considerably.

[0012] The damping element and the closing element can preferably bedesigned as an integral damping shoe, which also consists entirely of anelastic material such as silicone rubber. This damping shoe can beattached directly to the armature element or it can be injection mouldedto it. This embodiment is particularly practical, because the absorptionof the sound caused by the striking of the clapper-type armature whenthe valve opens as well as when it closes can be achieved using the samedevice, which can be easily and quickly attached to the clapper-typearmature by sliding it into place, or it has already been injectionmoulded to it.

DRAWING

[0013] Two preferred embodiments of the clapper-type armature are shownin the drawings, which are explained in greater detail using thedescription below.

[0014]FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a cross-sectional view of theelectromagnetically actuatable valve according to the invention, andFIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a cross-sectional view of apreferred embodiment of the electromagnetically actuatable valveaccording to the invention.

[0015]FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an electromagneticallyactuatable valve 1 in cross section which has a magnet part 2, whichincludes a coil form 3 on which a magnetic coil 4 is wound, as well as aperpendicular flux concentrating element 5 on the perimeter of the coilform 3, and a center pole 6 situated inside the coil form 3. Moreover,the valve 1 has a valve part 9 having a closing element 11. The closingelement 11 for opening and closing the valve 1 cooperates with anarmature element 7 on a valve seat 10, whereby the armature element 7 isdesigned as a clapper-type armature. The armature element is therebysituated on a face of the magnet part perpendicular to the longitudinalaxis of the center pole 6 and is connected with the flux concentratingelement 5. To open the valve, the armature element 7 is pulled throughan induced magnetic field in the direction of the center pole. Theclosing element is an umbrella sealing plug with an umbrella membranethat makes it possible for a fluid to flow through the valve channelwhen the armature element 7 is picked up. The umbrella stopper consistsof a flexible material such as silicone rubber. Moreover, a head 18designed on the center pole 6 is provided with a damping element 14 thathas a damping stop 13. The armature element 7 is held on a springelement 8 on the side opposite to the side actuating the closingelement. The spring element 8 is a spiral-coiled spring that returns thearmature element 7 to its position that closes the valve.

[0016] The spring element 8, a section of the flux concentrating element5, the armature element 7, the head of the center pole 18 as well as theclosing element 11 are contained in a housing. The housing comprises anupper housing section 16 that touches the coil form 3, and a lowerhousing section 17 in which two openings 19—one inlet opening and oneoutlet opening—and the valve seat 10 are located. The upper housingsection 16 and the lower housing section 17 are permanently connectedwith each other and form a pressure-sealed compartment. The valve seatis generally a component of the lower housing 17.

[0017]FIG. 2 also shows a schematic diagram of an electromagneticallyactuatable valve 1 in cross section, whereby the magnet part of thevalve 1 has the same design as the one described in FIG. 1. It differs,however, in that the closing element 11 and the damping stop 13 aredesigned single-piece as a damping shoe 15. The damping shoe 15 isattached directly to the armature element 7 or it is injection mouldedto it. Moreover, a leaf spring is used as the spring element 8, which isattached to an end section of the flux concentrating element 5 extendinginto the housing and to a section of the armature element 7. The layoutof the housing as well as the arrangement of the components of theelectromagnetically actuatable valve 1 included therein correspond tothose in FIG. 1.

Reference Symbol List

[0018]1 Valve

[0019]2 Magnet part

[0020]3 Coil form

[0021]4 Magnetic coil

[0022]5 Flux concentrating element

[0023]6 Center pole

[0024]7 Armature element

[0025]8 Spring element

[0026]9 Valve part

[0027]10 Valve seat

[0028]11 Closing element

[0029]12 Face

[0030]13 Damping stop

[0031]14 Damping element

[0032]15 Damping shoe

[0033]16 Upper housing section

[0034]17 Lower housing section

[0035]18 Head

[0036]19 Opening

1. Electromagnetically actuatable valve (1) comprising a magnet part(2), a moveable armature element (7), a spring element (8), and a valvepart (9), whereby the magnet part has at least one magnetic coil (4)wound on a coil form (3), a flux concentrating element (5) and a centerpole (6), and the valve part (9) has a closing element (11) thatcooperates with the armature element (7) and controls the opening andclosing of the valve on a valve seat (10), characterized in that thearmature element (7) is designed as a clapper-type armature andcooperates with the center pole (6) by way of a damping element (14). 2.Valve according to claim 1, characterized in that the armature element(7) and the valve part (9) are contained in a housing.
 3. Valveaccording to claim 2, characterized in that the armature element (7),the flux concentrating element (5), the closing element (11), the springelement (8), and the damping element (14) are arranged in the housing ina pressure-sealed compartment.
 4. Valve according to one of the claims 1through 3, characterized in that the damping element (14) has a dampingstop (13).
 5. Valve according to one of the claims I through 4,characterized in that the flux concentrating element (5) is designed asa bracket which is situated on the perimeter of the magnetic coil (4).6. Valve according to one of the claims 1 through 5, characterized inthat the closing element (11) actuated by the armature element (7) toopen and close the valve (1) is an umbrella sealing plug with anumbrella membrane.
 7. Valve according to claim 6, characterized in thatthe umbrella sealing plug is flexible and, in particular, consists ofsilicone rubber.
 8. Valve according to one of the claims 1 through 5,characterized in that the closing element (11) and the damping element(14) are designed as an integral damping shoe (15).
 9. Valve accordingto claim 8, characterized in that the damping shoe (15) is flexible andcan be attached directly to the armature element (7) or it is injectionmoulded to it.